UPDATE TIME! So quick note, I fought tooth and nail to keep in Hitoshi's opening line here. A lot of his great one-liners and best moments end up being cut (read: Shoto rescuing him at the USJ, yes that was written out and hopefully I'll work bits of it back in eventually) and I was determined to keep this one because it's great.
Anyways, TIME FOR THE READINGS MY DUDES.
"I seriously can't believe you let yourself get punked out by a houseplant." Hitoshi looked down at Izuku, "I thought you were the antichrist? Can't let your rep get smacked like this, dude."
"Hitoshi-"
"Don't worry about it though, I mean, if she sends one of ours to the hospital, we send one of hers to the morgue," He held up a quick fist and smirked, "Street rules, baby."
"Hitoshi!" Tenya snapped loudly, looking up from his stretching, "We absolutely do not go by street rules!"
Izuku panted as he pulled himself back up again and paused for a moment, holding onto his knees as Hitoshi held his feet down. "Are you done?" He gasped out, "'Cos it's getting real old, real fast."
"Eeeeh, I've got a few left in me, but I can wait 'till after class."
Ground Beta was alive with the sound of wind through buildings and the panting and grunting of Class One-A preparing for their latest heroing lesson. Team 'Ebony Darkness Dementia Way', which was not a name that anyone agreed on, much to Ochaco's disappointment, mostly gathered in one corner under some shade. This was not an unusual thing in of itself, as the sun was high and hot in the open sky, but the fact that almost everyone else avoided being near them was certainly telling.
Everyone had on their hero uniforms, including Izuku, as his had finally been repaired and replaced. Well, 'repaired' was something of an exaggeration. Completely rebuilt would be more accurate.
Izuku fell back to the ground, though not heavily, as he continued doing the sit-ups in preparation for their class. Still, despite the light sweat he'd already built up, his heart was only half-in the pre-class prep. Ibara's words the other day still weighed on him heavily. Never in his whole life had he been threatened like that. Katsuki had threatened him often, but it was always loud, brash, only half-serious and half-ego. Ibara, however, had used words that he knew would get to him, like she knew what he was and had positioned herself squarely on the other side of the fence.
And the look in her eyes. That cold, joyless look, it was the look of someone who had seen Hell up close and come away deeply scarred.
Izuku pulled himself up again with a heavy grunt of effort and again found himself pausing, looking away from his friend as he panted out, "I just… I wish I could do something, you know? I hate the thought that they're so angry with… me, I guess."
But it was more than that. It was the fact they were angry at all, because it meant that inside they were in pain, and his heart ached to fix it. He wanted to make amends, somehow, with Katsuki and find at least some common ground with Ibara, at least enough to convince her that he wasn't her enemy.
But how? How could he approach two people who were clearly so set against him? Ibara had even called herself a divine punishment sent to destroy him. For all he knew, considering the biting edge of her faith, she could well be correct. What then?
He had Hell inside him, and if she was blessed by Heaven, was there any way to convince her he wasn't evil?
He wasn't even sure of that himself.
"It is a challenging situation, I admit," Fumikage breathed out as he finished doing his usual stretches, "I have no doubt in my mind she knows about… us," and he glanced to his demonic quirk-familiar.
Dark Shadow already lingered to one side, having been summoned in order for them to hear whatever the lesson plan happened to be. Again, nothing unusual, though the demon had seemed a little more paranoid as of late once Fumikage had told them about Ibara after they had gotten off the school grounds.
The group had adopted a somewhat strict rule of 'no demon talk in school', considering the revelation about one of their own class members possibly being corrupted. Instead, they had adopted a strange sort of workaround, only referencing the supernatural world through… opaque means.
Ochaco nodded her voice low, "Yeah, and if she knows then she's probably told Katsuki everything, so now he knows," She was doing some stretches of her own, mostly against the wall which provided them their blessed shade, "Makes me wonder how many other people in the school are in on it."
"I've noticed a few," Dark Shadow spoke in a low, jackdawish tone as it continued to scan the other students, almost all of which were out of their low-tone earshot, "Or at least I suspect a few. It's hard to get a good reading without being up close."
Izuku raised an eyebrow at this as he sat up once again, "I thought you said you guys weren't common?"
"That's why I said I suspect a few," Dark Shadow quickly sniped back, "Try listening next time, moron."
This was quickly answered by Nemesis sending a shot of irritated fire through Izuku's scars, but he ignored it and pressed it back down.
"How can you suspect anything?" Tenya asked as he hopped in place, "Surely you either detect a presence or not?"
"I've already had this conversation with him," Fumikage replied for his demonic quirk-familiar as he stretched to one side, "And apparently, in this new age of quirks, it's no longer a simple case of noticing one of them in a crowd, or a person with the gift of true faith."
"Since you humans suddenly started using these quirks," And Dark Shadow literally finger quoted the word, "It's like suddenly we can just hide in plain sight, it doesn't matter if you have horns or wings or can spit acid, everyone just accepts it as normal," They paused to narrow their eyes at the other members of the class before their tone dropped lower, "This new world is strange, but humans will always be humans," A slight smirk crossed their beak, "And humans will always be stupid."
"Says the creature surviving on a human soul," Nemesis growled out through bloodied teeth, "Pathetic parasite."
"Well, either way, we've gotta focus on the Sports Festival," Hitoshi shrugged as he realized Izuku was doing no more sit-ups and moved to stand up, "It doesn't matter if a crazy evangelical calls you out, that only puts her in line behind the first one."
Izuku went to argue but found himself simply sighing, shrugging, and nodding in depressing admission. He supposed being involved in the supernatural world meant he would garner supernatural enemies, even if he really hoped to make peace with them.
There was a sudden friendly shout and the group collectively looked to see All Might striding towards, looking every bit the number one hero he was. The class was starting, it seemed, and it was time to get focused on the task at hand.
Yet as Izuku stood up, he still couldn't help but feel more than a little resigned to his fate. They had only two weeks to prepare for the festival, which meant he would have to put other priorities on the back burner. Nemesis had been mostly well behaved since the USJ at least, barring the flair-up at Fumikage's home. But then again, he also hadn't been confronted by any other insane cult leaders and their pet monsters.
In the end, Hitoshi was right. Other than keeping half an eye out for the mysterious third member of their little corrupted soul group, he had to concentrate on getting himself ready for the next major hurdle of his life. The Sports Festival was going to be tough and he knew it, especially with Ibara and Katsuki gunning for him.
He would have to face them there, perhaps both of them, perhaps even at the same time.
As he approached his over-muscled teacher, he adopted a determined expression and felt his hands curl into tight fists. He had two weeks to tighten his control over Nemesis, and he didn't intend to waste it.
The night was clear and crisp and somehow still heavy with the summer heat. There were no clouds and all the weather channels were promising the same for tomorrow.
Just as it should be. A perfect summers day for one of the biggest events in the nation's year.
Toshinori stood, looking up at the night sky. Light pollution killed most of the stars, but some, the strongest, still shined through, twinkling like flickering candles in the dark. He was standing on the bottom row of the stadium seats, just at the wall that would separate the crowd from the field. Behind him yawned a pitch-black entryway, which come the next day, would be filled with busy, excited people all there to watch the games.
His eyes traveled down and slowly, casually, he cast his gaze about the stadium. It was quiet right now, but tomorrow a thousand voices would be screaming and baying and cheering for the young heroes who would compete there. Young heroes who had already come so far, and with some coming through so much just to get to this point.
Toshinori took in a breath and sighed, putting his hands deep into his suit pockets. He wore his yellow striped suit, of course, being that it was one of the only suits he had that he could wear in and out of his All Might form.
Soon, he reasoned, that wouldn't matter. Soon One For All would be passed on, and he would no longer have to worry about fitting suits or anything of the sort. He would be retired… a word which still sat ugly in his heart. It wasn't that he selfishly wished to horde One For All forever, he knew he had to hand it down the generations, it was part of the wonderful gift that was his amazing, incredible quirk.
But it was the idea of no longer being able to help others. To be the one needing help. No, that didn't sit well with him, not at all.
He hoped that the Sports Festival would reveal the right person to him, that tomorrow the clouds would clear, and he would see the rightful successor to his power. A person brave, and dedicated, and determined to do good no matter what. A true hero.
One who could maybe make up for the sham of a hero he had become.
He breathed out through his nose and glanced down the stadium, allowing himself just a few more moments of quiet contemplation.
The air started getting cold.
Instinct, trained and honed through long years, suddenly yelled at him that something dangerous was looming down on him like a tidal wave and every hair on the back of his neck stood on end.
He turned suddenly, almost launching right into his All Might form before he stopped, his heart catching in his throat as he realized who had joined him.
Emerging from the darkened shadows of the stadium, and indeed he emerged rather than simply stepped out, was Hisashi Hokori.
It was always the eyes that Toshinori noticed first. Those terrible, awful blue eyes which burned and froze and crushed all at once, even when hidden behind the pair of spectacles that Hokori wore.
His suit was, as always, crisp and sharp, this one a midnight blue, his shoes looked expensive and his hair combed and professional. And yet, even so, the strangeness of his new age, as there was no other way to really put it, seemed striking to Toshinori. The graying of his hair, the wrinkles at his eyes, even the stubble at his chin.
No one had asked what had happened to him, because no one expected an answer. Hokori never answered anything he didn't wish to talk about, the staff had long since learned that lesson.
"Hokori," Toshinori breathed out, "What are you doing here?"
Oddly, the man seemed almost perturbed that Toshinori had noticed him coming. Oddly, Toshinori realized a little late that he had noticed him coming. Hokori had always been able to step into any situation with ease, like a snake coiling up from long grass.
The man didn't answer him. Instead, he stood for a moment, eyeing the pro-hero before his gaze turned and looked across the stadium, tracing a similar pattern to Toshinori's only a few moments ago.
He took a few steps further and joined his side, though Toshinori felt no less eased by his presence. That sense of danger always followed Hokori, it seemed inexplicably tied to his very aura.
Secretly, Hokori reminded him far too much of the one who gave Toshinori the wound that bloomed like a flower at his side. The one which had almost ended his life.
"I wanted to talk to you. Privately," The answer didn't so much as fill the night air as it somehow strangled it. There was a menace in those words, no matter how simply they had been spoken.
Toshinori wasn't sure what to say, and so, he cautiously nodded, "Alright. Speak."
Hokori's face was stony and serious, and for a long moment he said nothing, he only looked forward, though he wasn't looking at anything in particular. Even Toshinori could see that the man's mind was elsewhere, looking to memories that brought emotions he didn't want to show. He seemed to take a moment to breathe deep, and he crossed his arms across his chest.
Finally, he spoke, and his words were as void-black as his eyes. "You killed Izuku Midoriya."
Toshinori almost physically felt the dagger piercing his heart. His teeth git together tightly and he forced himself not to cough up a mouthful of blood.
"The world doesn't know, because I covered it up. Though I suspect Izuku may have told some of his friends, but it will never leave his group I'm sure of it," He did not look to Toshinori as he spoke, and his words remained razor sharp, "Still, it does not take away from the truth. You killed him."
"It- I never- I didn't-" Toshinori almost staggered back, and not just because of the harshness of Hokori's words.
He swore he could feel the man's anger. It was almost a physical presence permeating the air and crawling through the shadows and knifing into his skin with a thousand blades. His old wound ached suddenly, sharply, almost like it was fresh. The circle of burned skin around his neck seemed to tighten and he wanted to gasp out for breath. But instead, he grit his teeth harder, even as blood trickled wet and hot down his chin.
Hokori still did not turn to look at him. "I don't want to hear your excuses, Toshinori. I don't want to know what you thought it would accomplish, or how out of control Izuku was, or even how many lives you thought you saved by doing so."
Toshinori could see the man's hands tightening on his sleeves and a strange thought hit him. Had Hokori's fingernails always been painted black?
"It was a true miracle he came back to us, a true miracle," Hokori added and for a moment, Toshinori swore he almost smirked before its ghost vanished from his lips.
"I know," Toshinori replied through the pain, refusing to allow Hokori the pleasure of knowing how uncomfortable this was for him, "I know, so why are you telling me all of this?"
"Because I want you to know it won't happen again."
The ice in his words, so harsh against the fire that seemed to glow in his eyes, was shocking to behold. Still, Toshinori kept his ground, as a man, as a hero should do.
"I know," Toshinori replied, his eyes narrowing at the man, "I'll never-"
"No, no," Hokori interrupted suddenly and turned to look at him. His words were like arctic ice shelves smashing together, like lava flows devouring all in their path. "You don't understand. It won't happen again. You will never hurt that boy again. Do I make myself clear?"
There was no outward threat. No 'or you'll pay' or any other silly, petty words of violence. And in a way, that terrified Toshinori more than if he had spoken them, because the weight of his tone alone carried all that needed to be said.
There would not be a second time. There would not be a second chance. Right here, right now, he knew almost instantly that he was being handed a pardon. A single pardon. One which stood on the thinnest of grounds.
Toshinori stood for a long moment in the darkness of the stadium, matching Hokori's gaze. He refused to be intimidated, and yet, somehow he felt as though he was staring down the devil himself. He felt, in that moment, that all he knew or assumed about Hokori was somehow wrong. That the danger he felt around the man wasn't just an air of dislike or casual dismissive arrogance backed by his own power.
It was… more than that. Far greater and more terrible than he had ever suspected. There had always been a darkness to him that everyone at UA politely ignored, as he was Nedzu's right hand and essential to keeping the school standing.
Yet somehow, now they were speaking alone for the first time since Toshinori had known Hokori, that darkness seemed far deeper, far greater, far more… unholy than he had ever noticed it to be. Almost as if whatever had been keeping the vial around it was weakening, thinning, and one could finally glimpse the true monster that hid behind it.
Yet Toshinori would not be threatened. He would not be brought to heel like some obedient dog. He was the Symbol of Peace, in this form or any other, and he would not bow.
"Why are you saying this?" Toshinori's question split the night air like a sword being drawn, despite the pain in his side and the blood that threatened to spill from his mouth. "You've never given a damn about any of the students before, so why now? Why young Midoriya?"
For just a second, something flashed through Hokori's eyes, something that almost seemed… human, and his voice was suddenly laced with the hairlines of… of something that could only have come from his heart.
"Because I care about him."
The answer shocked Toshinori so much he almost lost his balance. He certainly lost the battle he was having with his lungs and coughed suddenly, spattering blood onto an open palm. The coughing fit hit him again and again, like punches to the stomach, forcing him to double over and choke.
When he finally managed to look up, he growled and grit crimson teeth as he saw Hokori was already walking away.
"Best of luck with the festival tomorrow. Try not to make too big of a fool out of yourself," Whatever had been there before had vanished, and darkness had enveloped his every action once again, "Don't forget what I told you."
"Hokori! Wait!" The hero reached a hand out to stop him, but within the blink of an eye, Hokori had vanished into the shadows which so eagerly embraced him.
In an instant, Toshinori was left alone, confused, and somehow feeling as though he had just escaped an execution.
Today was the day, and Inko couldn't be more nervous. She watched as her son gathered his things together, though why he was taking a full backpack of school items with him on a day that would be almost entirely spent in the stadium she wasn't quite sure.
Maybe it was just the hard worker in him. Always being prepared for whatever may come.
And indeed, she wouldn't deny the fact that already her worst nightmares had played out over her mind's eye. Of Izuku being hurt, being killed, being taken by whatever that thing was that lived inside him, that dark part of his soul which was born of his father's blood.
No. No, she couldn't think like that. She had to be positive, she had to believe that today was going to go well. After all, she knew that Izuku was thinking that way.
Well, she assumed he was thinking that way. After all, it wasn't like he actually told her anything anymore.
And she knew she deserved it.
"Have you got everything?" She braved, wondering if he would even reply.
Izuku looked up from where he stood by the door of their little home, dressed smartly in his uniform, and for a moment his eyes flashed wide, almost as if he hadn't thought she would even speak to him.
"Y-Yeah, I think so." He didn't look to her as he mumbled his answer back. Instead, he looked down to his backpack giving it another check over before hauling it up onto his shoulders.
Inko stood in the hallway, watching him the entire time, her hands wringing, her shoulders tense and her heart skipping beats in her chest. Her hair was a frazzled mess held together in a bun, her clothes heavy and frumpy as always.
She wondered just when Izuku had stopped taking after her. He looked so tall nowadays, and he had certainly put on muscle since he began training for the school. He had become more focused, more attentive and perhaps even more confident, though that was debatable.
She knew that the medication was fading, or at least, wasn't working as well as it should be. Inko wasn't stupid, she wasn't ignorant of the fact that before the USJ he had been talking more, working harder, doing better than he'd ever been doing before. She had seen this happen a few times over the years, as Izuku had grown older and his medication had needed to be changed.
So why now, why when surely as his power grew more each day, was she refusing to mention it? She had thought about it a few times. Asking him plainly if it was the case, if he needed to go on something stronger.
And yet she held back.
She loved him with every bit of her heart and soul… yet she held back.
And she didn't know why.
Maybe it was because he didn't look at her the same as he used to. Maybe it was because he had been smiling more and even making new friends. Maybe it was because she was afraid that if she asked, she would lose him permanently. Already things had become so strained that even dragging minor conversations out of him took time and effort.
And it wasn't as though he was closing down on everyone. It was just her. And she knew it was just her because he was constantly on the phone with his friends.
The worst thing of all, was that she knew it was all her fault.
She could give the word, at any time, for his father to step back into his life. To hand him the answers she knew he must be seeking.
For a moment, her mouth opened, as if in that tiny second she was going to say something to him. Something like, 'Do you want to know the truth?' or 'Do you want to talk to your father?'
Izuku caught her look suddenly as he stood up from putting his shoes on and he paused.
The space between them had never seemed so great. So wide and distant, as though no matter how long she ran to her son, she would never manage to hold him in her arms again.
"Mom?"
"I-" Her heart ached. It ached to let him know, to stop this, this chasm of guilt and shame and heartache from growing ever wider.
But she had to keep him safe. She had to keep him as far from the darkness of his lineage as possible. She had to keep him from his father, who despite his apparent sacrifice, was nothing but a bane on her and all of humanity. She would not let him turn her son into something cruel and dark and terrible.
"Good luck today, Izuku," She forced a smile on her face which she knew he would see through in a second.
The look in his eye told her he already had.
"Thanks, Mom."
"I love you, son," The words fell from her lips, though this time, the look in her eye was far more genuine. Her hand was already stretched out lightly towards him, and she had even taken a step forward. "I really do. Be safe, for me, please?"
Izuku paused with his hand on the doorknob. His messy hair that really needed to be cut hung around his head, hiding the shaved down horns and pointing ears. From his back curled his tail, black and scarred and ending in that spear-point tip. Yet despite everything she could see only a bright, shining light in his eyes. Not one of cruel fire, but of something more, something human and pure-hearted and good.
And yet there was a sadness there too. Perhaps he wanted to speak as much as she did. Perhaps he wanted to cross the gulf and be in her arms just as much as she wished he would.
But then he blinked, and it was gone.
"I love you too, mom," She knew the words were no lie, and yet, they still somehow seemed forced, "I'll be fine. Tape it for me, would you? I'll see you when I get home."
And with that he was gone, giving her a flash of a sharp-fanged smile that seemed more falsely confident than anything else.
With the thudding of the door closing, Inko seemed to breathe once again.
Her home always seemed colder without her son around.
She sighed and made her way over to the living room couch, falling into it and leaning forward to rub her forehead with one hand, her eyes closing for just a moment.
She thought back to a question which had been playing on her mind for almost a month now. The texts that Hokori had sent her, asking her to consider allowing Izuku to know, to finally allow them to meet.
She chewed the inside of her lip as again the thought of doing so pulled at her heart like it was tied with two ends of thick rope. What was best for Izuku? Before she wouldn't even question that giving him the medication, giving him as normal a childhood as she could offer, was what was best for him. He had survived, he hadn't died or been lost to the terrible Hell-fire in his blood.
But now she couldn't deny he was growing up. He wasn't a child anymore.
She looked to her phone, sitting on the coffee table before sighing again.
It was time to seriously think about it. Seriously this time, not in the half-hearted manner which she had done before.
She leaned forward, though she did not grab her phone but rather the TV remote. She turned on the TV and leaned back as she turned it to the channel the Festival would be shown on.
She'd watch the Festival at least. She would see for herself how far Izuku had come with the use of his power, and then, perhaps, she would make her final decision.
And yet despite it all, her heart felt no less heavy.
The sky above the UA grounds was clear, the sun shining hot though there was just enough of a gentle breeze to cool the skin and stop the humidity from gathering.
Over the vaunted walls and great glass towers of U.A. High, fireworks popped and danced. The sound of thousands of people jaunted the air as they shopped for souvenirs from the stands, bought snacks and drinks, t-shirts and trinkets.
The entire event was situated around a huge stadium, which apparently housed all of U.A.'s sporting events and one which they occasionally lent out to Japan's Quirk-Olympic team for training in the off-season. Either way, the capacity was in the hundreds of thousands, and indeed every seat in the house was taken.
Outside the school gates, news crews grumbled and griped as they entered one at a time, being patted down, scanned and even sniffed out for any possible weapons.
Safety first, or so insisted the smiling, shadow-eyed, sharply dressed man at the security gate. No one argued, and those that did found themselves quickly thrown off the grounds.
Inside the stadium, the Class 1-A locker room buzzed with excitement as the students gossiped and talked and gushed about what was to come. They had been working their tails off for weeks, Mashirao and Izuku literally, and now the big day had come and there wasn't a teenager there who wasn't at least a little excited.
Excited and nervous.
Or in Izuku's case, mostly just nervous.
The locker room was wide spaced, with several tables set up for the kids to sit around. They had all been told to wear only their gym uniforms, which in a weird way Izuku was glad for. His own uniform had only recently been repaired, and he didn't quite feel like ruining it again if anything bad happened.
He screwed up his eyes and breathed. No. Nothing bad would happen. Today was going to go just fine.
"We'll rip our competition to shreds," Nemesis snarled out, not helping the situation in the slightest, "The entire world will be in awe of our power."
Izuku sighed loudly and rubbed his temples while his tail flicked nervously, betraying his mood. Though honestly, it tended to twitch most of the time, so perhaps people just thought being nervous was his default emotion.
They wouldn't be too far off the mark.
The gang, which still had yet to decide on a name after rejecting 'The Mystery Skulls' once they'd found out it was already being used by, shockingly, another supernatural-themed hero team, hung out towards the back of the room. Fumikage and Hitoshi stood adjacent to Izuku, leaning on some lockers, with Hitoshi talking about what kind of training he'd been doing in his spare time. Ochaco sat next to Izuku on a blue wooden bench, though she didn't seem in the mood for talk, and was muttering mantras to herself.
"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration," She mumbled over and over while bridging her fingers together.
"Will she ever shut up?" Nemesis grumbled out, causing Izuku to wince.
His inner demon never got to finish the thought. The door suddenly burst open and every eye in the room looked up. Tenya stood there, almost panting, and he certainly took a moment to gather his voice before shouting out, "Five minutes everyone! Get your game faces on, we're almost up!"
The excitement rose, along with Izuku's growing sense of terror mixed with undirected, nervous energy, causing his foot to bounce and his tail to swish back and forth. He really, really wanted this to go well. Anything to avoid another USJ, anything to avoid the world seeing what he was like on the inside.
He just hoped they wouldn't have direct one-on-one fighting this year. Last year they'd had team-based matches using weapons with padded ends. That'd be nice and safe and easy to compete in. He was going to set his heart on that.
… which probably meant he'd jinxed it already.
Suddenly, some of the chatter died down and Izuku took a second to realize why.
Shoto Todoroki was storming towards them.
Hitoshi seemed to notice this at the same time, and as the teenager drew to them, he suddenly began scrambling to right himself against the locker, almost falling over and drawing some confused stares to him.
Once Shoto stood before them, Hitoshi coughed, trying his best to look cool and failing, and quickly shot Shoto a finger gun, "H-Hey, hey, hi, Shoto, hey, how you doin'? Hi."
Shoto simply narrowed his eyes at Hitoshi for a moment before letting out a low, "Right," Then turned his gaze back to Izuku.
"A soul caged in ice," Nemesis hissed, snake-like, with fangs of dripping venom, "So much cold-blooded hatred. We wonder what drives him."
"Izuku," Shoto spoke in a firm yet flat tone, "Before we start the festival, there's something I wanted to tell you."
So that was it. Those were officially the most words Izuku had heard Shoto speak since the school year began. He gulped his nerves down as he looked up to the teenager.
Their eyes met, and suddenly, he got flashbacks of Katsuki's eyes, of Ibara's eyes. Shoto had much of the same look within his own miss-matched gaze. That cold, cool, marble-like anger that was etched into his very soul, into his every action and word. Though this time, it wasn't directed at himself, which was only a small relief.
Izuku felt his heart lurch for the poor teenager and again he asked himself, what could have possibly happened to this person to cause such pain?
He gathered his thoughts back together and stammered out, "Erm, sure?"
"Objectively speaking, you have the strongest quirk in class."
Izuku blinked at this. It wasn't exactly what he was expecting but okay. "I… guess?"
"We do not guess," Nemesis hissed through his blood, sending ripples of flame along his scars, "We know. We are the most powerful, the most dominant. We are shadow and flame. It's good this child of ice recognizes our strength."
"However," Shoto began, folding his arms slowly over his chest, "I have no intentions of allowing you to win. I will beat you, no matter how scary other people might find your quirk." His eyes seemed to harden even more, "Try not to lose control today, I want my victory to be without complications."
The room went silent at his words, though if Shoto even acknowledged it, he didn't show it. He simply turned and began walking away.
"Hey!" Shoto stopped and turned, though not towards Izuku, but to Hitoshi. The boy had pushed himself from the locker and now stood, his eyes glaring at Shoto. Whatever feelings he had for the slightly shorter teenager had clearly been forgotten in his sudden passion. "You can't just go declaring war on people like that, what's wrong with you?"
"Nothing. This is a competition, not a team-based exercise for kids." Shoto coldly replied, "We're all out for ourselves here. If we don't do our best, we won't be noticed by agencies. We're competing with the other classes, sure, but we're also competing with one another for the top spot."
This caused a sudden murmur to course through the locker room. It seemed that in the excitement of actually competing, that small but very important detail had been forgotten. Now, like the rising of the sun, the inevitable realization that each member of the classroom was a potential rival in the festival seemed to dawn on them all.
The air shifted. The nervous, static-like excitement of before was dulled and a new tenseness entered the room as if at any moment they were all going to start swinging at one another.
"Shoto," Izuku broke the silence suddenly and, to the boy's own surprise, he had risen to his feet, "I want you to know," He looked to Shoto as he spoke, but his voice seemed to rise, as if addressing everyone, "I'm not going to let Nemesis take control. Not today, not ever again, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to push myself in the competition. Everyone is going to be trying their hardest, and not just from our class but from every course. It's only right that we do the same, and I-"
He faulted on his words for a moment, even as fire hot but not burning seemed to flow through his blood and his tail rose and curled, rather than twitched. And yet despite the hammering of his nervous heart, despite the fear he felt at failing to hold his demon back, despite everything he knew was stacked against him, he had fire. A cursed fire, yes, but a fire nonetheless, one that burned inside him to push forward, to do better, to be better, and one that demanded he stand up and make himself counted.
"I want to win!" Izuku spoke through sharp teeth, and for a single, split second, it seemed as though the light of his eyes dimmed just slightly, "If this is a declaration of war, then right back at you!"
"Yes," Nemesis curled a fist within Izuku's heart, one which Izuku himself couldn't help but take strength from, "We want to win, and nothing will stand in our way, especially not some preening, melancholic little ice prince."
Shoto seemed to hesitate for just a moment, as if he hadn't expected this sudden show of determination from Izuku, before simply giving a simple, small nod, and turning to walk towards the main door.
"PLEASE WELCOME TO THE FIELD, THE VICTORS OF THE BATTLE OF THE USJ, HERO COURSE CLASS ONE-A!"
Present Mic's voice boomed over the entire stadium, and as Izuku strode out onto the field, he couldn't help but wonder if it was from some huge and complex audio set up, or simply from using his own quirk.
The air shook from the almighty roar that rattled the ground beneath him. Izuku felt Nemesis race through his scars, almost setting them alight, as if it was somehow nervous at the vast amount of sound and people. He pushed it down, along with his own shaking heart and wobbly legs.
In a moment of pride, he had declared war on the easily the strongest boy in class, so if he didn't hold his head up, he'd be proving himself, and Shoto, wrong almost immediately. Oddly enough, the words of the lawyer, Hisashi Hokori, entered his mind as he walked with the rest of his class. Shoulders straight, chin up, chest out. Without thinking, Izuku found himself doing just that and oddly found a trickle of confidence enter his heart.
He had to believe he could do this. And he had to believe he could do it without turning into a giant, shadow-clad rage demon.
The class gathered on the main field lining into mostly organized, if a little miss-matched, rows.
"HOT ON THEIR TAILS, GIVE IT UP FOR UNQUENCHABLE HERO COURSE CLASS ONE-B!"
Izuku winced, yeah, he was becoming more and more convinced that it was purely just Present Mic shouting from the commentator's box.
And so, the pro-hero announced each first-year class, one after another, until in their class rows they stood before a raised stand, on which several chairs were set out and Midnight stood, dressed as always in almost nothing with her famed whip in hand.
Izuku at one point glanced over the crowds of students, trying to see if he could spot Katsuki or Ibara, but found he could only spot a tiny glance of what looked to be green hair several rows down. At least she wasn't close enough to make his skin crawl.
He did, however, spot several circling, unshapely things in the sky, and there were a few ugly and demonic looking unborn crawling along the walls of the stadium. There was even one, a kind of terrier-sized slug with spines and horns, crawling slowly along the front of the stand in front of him. He ignored them, after all, as Dark Shadow had stated, while they were terrible to behold, the unborn demons were essentially mindless animals.
And he couldn't afford to get distracted, not today.
"And now," Midnight announced into the microphone as soon as the last of the support class students had walked to the field, "To start the proceedings, a speech from this year's guest speaker, all the way from Neo Yokio, Mr. Kaz Kaan!"
There was a loud roar of cheers and applause as a slim, well dressed young man with a shock of pink hair and skin only slightly darker than Hitoshi's own walked out, waving, onto the field. Oddly, at the sight of him, Nemesis mumbled something dark about not liking the look of his soul. Izuku shook it off, it was probably just angry the actual competition hadn't started yet.
Kaz Kaan gave a quick speech in well, though not perfectly, spoken Japanese on the virtues of young, up and coming heroes, which was nice enough, though it ended with an oddly placed plug for Caprese Martinis. It seemed the crowd were still pumped up enough either way and gave him a rousing cheer and a round of applause.
After he had sat down, Midnight once again took the mic and grinned a flashing, slightly seductive smile, "And now, to officially begin the games, the student's speech given by the highest scoring student in the entrance exam, Miss Ibara Shiozaki!"
Izuku froze. Ibara was the highest scoring student?
A second later he felt it. Spider legs crawling up his arm, the edge of a knife playing across his throat, static humming inside his teeth. Yet as Ibara passed him she didn't even give him a glance as her gaze was fixed forward on the stand. Though as she walked, Izuku couldn't help but notice something odd. Her vine hair, which always seemed to fan slightly around her, curled away from the unborn slug-demon.
A frown formed on his face as he briefly let his mind wander…
She walked up the small set of stairs and soon came to stand beside the microphone. Izuku couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. While he stood two rows back from the stand itself, he could still feel the purring charge of her divine power, but not nearly as strongly, not enough that it became an uncomfortable crawl under his skin.
Ibara looked every bit the model student. Her aristocratic features, matched by her flowing hair, despite its unusual nature, and proud, straight posture made her look commanding, yet humble. It made her look like a student every teacher would want in their class. Attentive, smart and eager to learn.
Izuku hoped that she would just keep it short and simple. She had to be under the equal impression that they had to keep all the 'demons are real' stuff quiet, right?
"My friends, there are demons amongst us."
Stupid Izuku, when would he learn to stop hoping things would go his way?
"They whisper in our ears, they tempt us with lies, they drag us to the depths of Hell with their false promises of wealth, of glory, of power and fame," Ibara's voice was stern, confident, thanks to the microphone, it reached into every corner of the stadium, "They exist all around us, some unseen, some on our shoulders, and for some, within our hearts and souls."
She might as well have pointed right at Izuku, or so the teenager thought. He really wished his quirk was to shrink into the floor, it'd come in real handy right about now.
Fire moved through his scars and he found, despite his better instincts, he stood a little more confident. Nemesis, it seemed, was not about to let him bow to the challenge.
"We must find the strength within ourselves, and with the help of Holy God, to fight these demons wherever they appear. Though hard work, dedication, focus and unrelenting devotion to the Almighty, we will overcome these obstacles. There will be no darkness that can suffer our light, no enemy that can withstand our righteous fury, and no demon we cannot exorcise from with ourselves, and from those arounds us." She raised her arms as she spoke, her voice climbing to a passionate tone, "We are heroes, one and all, let us prove to God our devotion to what its right and good in this world. Amen!"
There was a polite applause from the audience, though it certainly seemed a little lukewarm. Many in the audience seemed to give one another slightly confused, sideways glances, and even from his own classmates Izuku's pointed ears caught snippets of, "well that was weird" and, "I thought she was giving a speech, not a sermon."
Midnight approached the microphone, politely clapping, though she too wore a slightly awkward look on her face. "Thank you, Miss Shiozaki for that very, ahh, spiritual speech."
Shiozaki bowed politely to her teacher, a calm yet joyless smile on her features before she turned and began walking back off the stage.
Then she did something a little odd.
As she approached the final step, the one which the unborn slug-demon been crawling across, she hopped over it.
Rather than step down on what had surely been, to everyone else, a perfectly clear step. She had avoided it.
Izuku's eyes narrowed at her as she passed and a thought flittered through his mind, 'Surely, she couldn't have…'
A sudden cracking of a whip caused him to jump and he turned back to the stage. Midnight stood, hand on hip and with a bright grin on her lips, "Now! Eyes forward!" From behind her, a giant holo-screen popped up, "The first course will now be randomly decided!"
Izuku felt himself, and practically everyone around him, tense. This was it. The Sports Festival was officially starting now, and suddenly it all felt so much more real than it had done several minutes ago.
Again, he felt the flame of his blasphemous curse move through his scars. Nemesis was eager for this and had been since the festival had been announced. Another chance to crush those it saw as beneath it. Another chance to break free and shed blood without its host holding it back.
Izuku clenched his jaw. No. Not this time. He would rather lose than allow that to happen. He had to focus. Ibara's hidden threat or no, she couldn't outright murder him in front of thousands. He had to keep going and push his fears aside.
Besides, the thought of another loss because of his damned curse made him sick to his stomach.
A spinning wheel, like that of a gambling machine, whizzed on the holoscreen as Midnight, in the way that only Midnight ever seemed to get away with, teased with licking lips and come-hither eyes, "What will it be, hum? I'm practically tingling at the very excitement of it all!"
The wheel stopped, and there was a collective gasp from the entire stadium.
"AH!" Midnight gasped and gripped her whip harder, "An obstacle course! Oh, I do love this one!"
The screen suddenly shone a cartoonish diagram of the entire stadium, to which she pointed with her whip, "The object is simple! Run the entire length of the outside path of the stadium overcoming the obstacles! Now, I don't like to restrict people, unless when it's enjoyable, so feel free to use your quirks however you wish! Just don't seriously harm one another, or you'll be immediately disqualified!"
Well, that was… good, at least. Weirdly enough he didn't remember them openly stating that rule in the previous Sports Festivals.
Huh. How very convenient.
"The first forty-two students to pass the finish line will progress to the next round! Try your best everyone and good luck!"
As the collective classes began gathering by the far entrance to the stadium, one with three large green lights above it, Izuku again felt Nemesis gathering within his blood. It was grinning, wolfish and dangerous, and its hellish flame was igniting his heart.
"We're going to crush them all," It hissed through his mind, eager and almost giddy for the challenge, "We're going to stand atop this contest of skill with our fist held high."
Weirdly enough, Izuku felt himself… encouraged by Nemesis's fiery motivation. His accused quirk was clearly geared up for this, and he had told himself that he would do his best. This was his chance to prove to everyone he wasn't just a monster, he was a student just like the rest of them and just like the rest of them he was going to compete.
"We'll build a throne of skulls from our beheaded enemies!"
… well maybe not that motivated, but still.
The green lights faded, and everyone tensed.
Three.
Two.
One.
GO.
SO YEAH. Lots to hopefully unpack in this one. Hitoshi/Lucifer and Toshinori's chat was originally longer (and more brutal) but it was cut because a few of you told me you felt I was dropping Inko, so it was trimmed (and really, improved) to make space for Inko and Izuku's little moment there. I wanted to show how their relationship had become strained and distant, and I think it actually works better for the chapter to have it there.
Also Ibara's speech! And some more mysteries to surround her with... what is WITH this houseplant, huh?
Anyways, as always thank you all for reading and I'll see y'all next time!
